Chinaglia Brace Helps Maestrelli's Lazio Defeat Viterbese

Simon Basten

Aug 22, 2022

5 min read

Season 1971-72

Pre Season Friendly

Sunday, August 22, 1971

Stadio Comunale, Viterbo

Viterbese Lazio 0-3

Chinaglia strikes twice as Maestrelli's evolving Lazio passes an important pre-season test, with Wilson's return strengthening the defence and Nanni helping the midfield control the game.

For the first preseason training under Tommaso Maestrelli, the team moved to Padula, near Salerno where they would stay from August 3-22. In their first friendly they had beaten Turris 3-2 and in their second a Selection from Vallo di Diano 6-0. Today was their third against Viterbese.

The match: Sunday, August 22, 1971, Stadio Comunale, Viterbo

Maestrelli can leave Viterbo satisfied.

Lazio's new coach had travelled to face Viterbese with several questions to answer. He wanted to see how his midfield would function with Franco Nanni in the side, assess the physical condition of his players and, perhaps most importantly, finalise his defence with the return of Giuseppe Wilson.

The answers were encouraging.

Lazio won 3-0 in front of around 5,500 spectators, but the result was only part of the story. The performance of Viterbese, a promising side containing five former Lazio players, provided Maestrelli with a worthwhile examination ahead of the upcoming Derby against Helenio Herrera's Roma.

The match also offered evidence that Maestrelli's team was beginning to take shape.

Nanni's introduction into midfield, alongside the mobility of Gigi Martini, Giuseppe Massa and Pierpaolo Manservisi, allowed Lazio to dominate possession for long periods. The only real weakness was the lack of consistent support for the forwards, but this was hardly unexpected at this stage of the preparations.

The midfield nevertheless demonstrated that it could control the centre of the pitch for extended periods—something that would be essential against Roma.

The return of Wilson was equally important.

Playing as the sweeper, he immediately restored a sense of security to the Lazio defence. The uncertainties that had been visible in some of the team's previous outings largely disappeared, with Wilson providing the leadership and positional awareness required to protect the back line.

Alongside him, Giuseppe Papadopulo also impressed after recovering fully from injury.

The two full-backs, Mario Facco and Gaetano Legnaro, were less convincing. Both struggled at times to contain Viterbese's fast and technically gifted wide players, particularly Vincenzo Toscano and Adone Mariotti, who repeatedly attempted to take them on in one-on-one situations.

Nevertheless, the overall impression was positive.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the afternoon was Lazio's physical condition.

Maestrelli kept his strongest XI on the pitch for around an hour, using the opening stages of the match to evaluate how his players coped with maintaining a high tempo. The response was excellent. Lazio worked hard for long periods, maintaining a good pace and showing no signs of wanting to conserve energy.

The foundations, it appeared, were already there.

Viterbese fielded their strongest available side, although they had only begun pre-season training on 10 August and were therefore behind Lazio in terms of preparation.

There was particular interest in the five former Lazio players in the home side: Andrea Carratoni, Roberto Vuerich, Valerio Bertoldo, Corrado Fragasso and Mariotti. All five would go on to produce performances that exceeded expectations.

Lazio made one significant change to the team that had been expected to start, with Nanni replacing Giuliano Fortunato in midfield.

The Biancocelesti immediately attacked with purpose.

After just one minute, Giorgio Chinaglia came close to opening the scoring after a powerful run, but his shot flew narrowly over the crossbar. Lazio continued to press forward in numbers, and it took Viterbese until the third minute to establish their first meaningful possession.

The opening goal arrived after only five minutes.

Costantino Fava created the opportunity with a run down the right before delivering a cross into the penalty area. Legnaro was there to meet it, and with the unfortunate assistance of Mariotti, the ball ended up in the net from close range.

Lazio had their early lead.

Yet the goal did not cause Viterbese to collapse.

Instead, the home side responded impressively. Giuseppe Banchetti's team grew in confidence and began to test the Lazio defence. Toscano, Bernardo Pescosolido and Mariotti all produced dangerous moments, forcing Lazio's defenders to work considerably harder than they might have anticipated.

Wilson was outstanding.

His return immediately appeared to solve some of the defensive uncertainty that had affected Lazio in previous matches. The experienced defender looked indispensable in the sweeper role, while Papadopulo provided a strong presence alongside him.

Lazio went into half-time leading 1-0, but the performance had become increasingly competitive.

The Biancocelesti had started at tremendous speed but gradually lost some of their momentum. Viterbese, meanwhile, had proved considerably stronger than anticipated. Rather than sitting back and accepting their fate, the home side continued to play positively and gave Lazio a genuine test.

The attack still lacked fluidity and the midfield's considerable movement was not always translated into chances. But overall, Lazio had clearly improved compared with their previous pre-season performances.

The second half was more comfortable.

Lazio's superior physical preparation began to tell, and with their midfield increasingly taking control of the game, Maestrelli's side began to threaten the Viterbese goal more consistently.

After 63 minutes, Massa produced one of the best individual moments of the match.

He surged past several opponents and rounded the goalkeeper, only for Marcello Marini to recover in time and clear the ball off the goal line.

The second goal was coming.

It eventually arrived from the penalty spot after Luigi Giannini was judged to have held an opponent inside the area. The ref pointed to the spot, and Chinaglia stepped forward.

The penalty had to be taken twice.

The referee ordered the first attempt to be retaken, but Chinaglia remained composed. On the second attempt, he sent the ball to the goalkeeper's right to make it 2-0.

The striker was not finished.

With eight minutes remaining, Chinaglia completed the scoring in spectacular fashion.

The Lazio centre-forward received the ball, beat three defenders, rounded the goalkeeper and calmly finished into an empty net.

It was a goal that underlined the qualities that made him such a dangerous striker. Powerful, direct and confident, Chinaglia had once again provided Lazio with the decisive cutting edge.

The final whistle confirmed a 3-0 victory.

The result was encouraging, but Maestrelli's satisfaction went beyond the scoreline.

The match had answered several of the questions he had brought with him to Viterbo. Nanni had integrated successfully into midfield, the combination of Martini, Massa and Manservisi had allowed Lazio to dominate possession, and Wilson's return had given the defence a much more settled appearance.

There was still work to be done, but the foundations were in place

Who played for Viterbese

Restani (Massitti), Carratoni, Lorenzon (Testorio), Vuerich, Marini, Bertoldo (Alberti), Mariotti (dal 65’ Morera), Bazzarini, Pescosolido, Fragasso, Toscano (Giannini)

Manager: Banchetti

Who played for Lazio

Bandoni, Facco, Legnaro (61’ Oddi), Wilson, Papadopulo (66’ Polentes), Martini (65’ Gritti), Manservisi, Massa, Chinaglia, Nanni, Fava (63’ Dolso)